Daycare centre, preschool and primary school for children from 0 to 10: dialogues between Italy and Brazil

This study aims at bridging the gap, sanctioned by school organisations and educational institutions, which artificially fragments children's growth experiences and knowledge into rigid, discrete segments. Existing research suggests the need to overcome a rupture, caused by schools, which artificially segments children’s experience from birth to ten years (Cecconi, 2012). We reflect on how to accommodate children’s own pace of development and ways of getting to know the world. For this research we use theoretical multidisciplinary paradigms: childhood sociology (Fernandes, 1944; Corsaro, 2011), pedagogy of early childhood (Dewey, 1949; Edwards, Gandini & Formann, 1995; Serio, 2013), and education and the teaching heuristics (Rosa-Vignali, 1981). We use qualitative approaches which make use of several flexible tools to explore the cultural dimensions that emerge, through images and 'declarations', as well as investigation of educational and teaching practices related to relational dynamics between adults and children and the behaviors adopted by educators in the field. The conduction of the investigation meets legal precepts with due authorisation of responsible adults’ of the children. The consent was also negotiated with the children, seeking respect of their cultural codes and the uniqueness of each individual involved. The results point to the need to overcome a fracture that divides the experience of children in hard and not communicative segments, excluding the times and genuine ways of children to be and understand the world. The intention of the research is to enable the recognition, registration, and access to knowledge dissemination originated between children and with children in educational institutions.